Trust Your Instincts
by Tsutarja-cuteness101
Summary: Why is Kirby so different from everyone else? Hero or not, there doesn't seem to be any real excuse...but...maybe it's better not to mess with nature... Rated T for minor swearing, and blood/violence mention in later chapters. Unreliable narrator in some parts.
1. Chapter 1

_What am I…?_

 _I know I'm a puffball…A star warrior…a hero…but…_  
 _What's so special about me…?_

 _Why do I learn things so fast? Why am I the only one that can wield those special weapons?_  
 _Why can I copy abilities when most others can't?_

 _What am I?_

 _…Why me…?_

* * *

"AUGH!"

Kirby kicked a rock into a nearby tree, holding back his strength so he wouldn't do any actual damage.  
But it didn't matter.  
He was _pissed_.

Sitting around and relaxing, for once, had given him time to think. And with that time to think, he came up with questions — ones he had come up with before, but never actually asked before.  
Well, this time, he had gotten fed up with not knowing, and went ahead and asked the only person that, to his knowledge, would know besides Kabu.

Of course, Meta Knight either knew nothing or, at least, was pretending to.

 _…Kabu…_  
Kirby had considered going to him before, multiple times. But, in the end, Kabu scared the shit out of him.  
Not to mention, he was, essentially, a relic from the past, and seeing him brought back painful memories he wanted to bury…

…Then, of course, there was the strange sense of pride he had gained in doing anything to distance himself further from the usually cold and seemingly apathetic knight, and if that meant never using something he probably used…

…Well, that just left the little hero without any options, didn't it?

After a moment, he kicked the tree the rock had hit, hard enough to leave a dent.  
He got ready to do it again, until a voice interrupted him.

"Wow…Angry over there, are we?"

A person approached him.  
They were completely covered in a dark blue cloak that had awkwardly made "sleeves" where two hands poked out; one that looked like a gray puffball hand, and one that looked like a yellow paw.  
The fabric was also draped above their head, casting a dark shadow over their face, which hid every feature except their green eyes.  
A large bluish-green scarf was wrapped what Kirby assumed to be the person's neck area, hiding their mouth.  
At the back of it all, there was a huge, fox-like tail swaying behind them, trailing to the creature under the cloak.

…This stranger seemed pretty suspicious, but had their eyes closed in what seemed to be a warm smile, making it hard for Kirby to tense up without feeling awkward.

"Although, I do have to wonder what that poor tree did to make you so upset at it", they giggled, stopping a few feet away from the puffball.

Kirby glanced at the tree, then took a step to the side, away from it. "E-eheheh…The tree didn't do anything. I guess I'm just in a bad mood…"

"What for?"

"It's…it's nothing, really…"

"Oh?" The cloaked figure tilted their head, looking worried. "Are you sure? I may be able to help…  
Come on, friend. Tell me what ails you."

He shifted a bit, wondering if he should leave now. But that would be rude, wouldn't it? They were obviously concerned…  
…but that wouldn't last long with the bit of info, would it?

"…My name's Kirby…"

"-Oh?" Their eyes widened in surprise. " _The_ Kirby?"

He gritted his teeth, tensing a bit. Here came the usual couldn't-believe-it-was-him, hey-could-he-help-out-with-something bit.

"Beating up a poor, defenseless tree? Now I know that problem of yours isn't just 'nothing'." They gave another warm smile. "After all, the famous Hero of Dreamland wouldn't do something like that for no reason, right?"

"I, uh…um…" Kirby stared at the other, utterly shocked the conversation was still on his problem. "…er…Would he…?"

"Would you?"

"…no…" He hung his head in defeat.

They just chuckled good-naturedly. "Then we have something to talk about, don't we?"

"I-I guess so…By the way…who are you?"

"—Oh! How rude of me! I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"  
The person bowed as best as they could, then smiled up at him even more.

 _Why is this person so happy...?_

"My name is Raleigh! It's nice to meet you, Hero of Dreamland!"


	2. Chapter 2

Soon after that, Kirby found himself sitting under a less-damaged tree, venting to his new "friend"…

"…and I'm pretty sure no one else gets a thrill from fighting like that — I mean — not in the same way! And I just…  
…I'm sick…of not knowing…what I am…or why I'm like this…"

"I see…hm…"

"…'hm'?"

Raleigh stood up, dusting himself off.  
"Well, I think I have an idea as to help you find out, my friend!", he chirped, helping the pink puff to his feet.

"A…an idea…?"

"Yea! Could I get you to follow me for a moment? I promise you won't be disappointed!"

"…" Kirby sighed, reluctantly nodding. "…I guess so…"  
 _This better not be a trick…_

~

A few minutes later, they came to what looked like a big, half-laboratory, half-house.

The person walked up to the building, his tail wagging a mile a minute. "Welcome to my home, Kirby!"

"Your home…?" He stared at it a while longer.  
…It was a strange place, but…it didn't feel threatening at least.  
At the same time, his stomach was doing flops, trying to tell him to leave now.

 _Always trust your instincts, Kirby…_

"Come inside and I'll explain the idea!"

"…uh…" He blinked a bit, slowly snapping back to reality. "…Right."  
 _I've come this far…Might as well…  
_  
With that, Kirby headed inside and looked around.

To his surprise, the walls and ceiling were colored soft shades of blue and green, with a teal carpet covering the floor. The room itself appeared to be the living room, complete with a couch, a tv, a squishy-looking chair, and a bean bag chair.

He stared hopefully over at Raleigh, who simply chuckled and nodded, as if already knowing what he wanted.  
Immediately, the little hero dove at the bean bag chair, squirming around on it until he was comfy and content.

"…In case you're wondering", Raleigh said, going and sitting on the couch, himself, "the extra chairs are for any guests I get. Some like to have options, as I've noticed. Hehe…"

Kirby merely gave a grunt in response, mostly to just show he was listening.

"Right…onto my idea.

See, I am a scientist, of sorts.  
I am part of a larger corporation that specializes in trying to do various things involving the creatures of this world.  
The group that was stationed here, on Popstar, specifically worked in 'splicing' people.  
Now, I know that sounds bad, whether you know what splicing is or not, but let me finish, alright?

Unfortunately, due to a difference in goals and moral standards between me and my… _cohorts_ , it's…just me now." He sighed and shook his head, giving a look of disgust. "They wanted to do it all for profit, and kept bringing in random, perfectly healthy people that wanted nothing to do with the procedure…! I had to separate from them…"

"Nonetheless!", he continued, gesturing as widely as he could with his badly made sleeves, "I'm still hard at work on my research, and I can assure you I'm a professional and perfectly qualified for the things I do.

Which leads me to my actual idea.

There's a chance that, if I could be given a sample of your DNA and allowed to check through it, I would be able to find out, literally, what you are for you.  
Now, what that has to do with splicing? Well, the best of the best can separate as well as fuse, usually. It's a simple fact."

He paused, letting Kirby process all of that.

"…Of course, I understand if you don't trust me, or don't want to go through with it. It also might not reveal anything…  
So, I can understand if you say no, or need time to think about it…"

The little hero didn't respond, letting the entire explanations sink in.

Time to think about it…?  
Honestly, Kirby wasn't sure he needed any, beyond the processing. He was already more than willing to go through with this…this crazy talk, if it finally got him the answers he wanted so badly…  
And why not?

He had no other options…

…And if he needed to, he could clean up any mess this created, right…? Like he always did...

So, he sat up as best as he could in the beanbag chair.  
"I-I'll do it!"

The scientist looked both surprised, and delighted. "You will?"

"Sure…Might as well…  
…What kind of 'sample' do you need, though?"

"Oh, anything, really. Blood, skin, spit…anything, as long as it contains your DNA."

"…Is there a best choice out of that…?"

"Blood, for various reasons, but…if you're afraid of needles—"

"I'm not." He started to get up, but Raleigh just ushered him back down.

"A-alright, it's alright…You don't have to get up for this, honestly. I'll just go get the needle, if you want."

Kirby simply nodded, and watched him hurry out of the room.

Hopefully, this wouldn't take too long…

…And, fortunately, it didn't, as a mere minute or two later, the cloaked figure came back with a needle in hand.

Obediently, he stuck out his arm and let Raleigh take his blood - a slightly painful process, but that was just needles.

Once that was over with, Kirby was informed the process would take some time, and it would be best if they could call each other if and when something came up.

So, begrudgingly (Kirby was beginning to lose his patience), he exchanged phone numbers with the scientist and headed out, still hoping he'd get an answer soon.

…Of course…that was if his new "friend" planned on giving him an answer at all…


	3. Chapter 3

The little hero lazed around his house after that.

He didn't feel up to much of anything, and, strangely enough, no one came to bug him during this time…  
…It was weird, but probably for the best in the end.

He didn't want to work at all right now, and he wasn't up to hanging out with his friends.

Both of which being rather unusual for the otherwise constantly busy puffball, but he couldn't help it!

After all of that, with Raleigh...  
...Splicing...? A weird, strangely happy scientist?  
The possibility of answers?

Kirby was sure he hadn't dreamt it up - he was hardly a lucid dreamer -, though it wasn't _quite_ something he could fully wrap his head around yet, which lended to it relentlessly swirling around in his head.

All he wanted to do was wait for that call, to hear the good news.  
Find out everything, then finally, _finally_ get over it.

…But…he couldn't just lay here all day, doing nothing but wait for it, could he? That wasn't healthy…  
Besides, he always had his phone with him, in his stomach.

With a sigh, Kirby hopped to his feet and headed outside.

…  
Of course, the first thing he had to see once outside was unmistakably Meta Knight flying by not too far away, going to do Nova knew what.

With nothing better to do, he followed the soldier around, just…absentmindedly watching him fly, not paying attention to anything else Meta did.  
Why bother, after all? It wasn't any of Kirby's business, was it? And on top of that, it didn't appear to be all that important…

Either way, the knight's flight interested him more than it probably should have.

Kirby himself could fly using his warp star, but the star was rather big, even vertically, preventing it from going to certain places ( _especially_ vertically, as it tended to hop more than fly that way), and there were certain ways he couldn't go on it without risk of injury, and it wasn't always there when he needed it.

Hell, there were times when he couldn't even summon it.

But Meta and his wings didn't have that problem…nor did any other winged puffball he had encountered.

Wings were more versatile, and seemingly easier to control than the Warp Star. Plus, they grew right out of one's _back_!  
He'd never have to worry about summoning his transport again with those!

Sadly, he couldn't grow wings himself.

That was one of the two things, the other being magic, that he didn't have, which kept him from being set even further apart from everyone else.

On one hand, that was good. He didn't want to be more different. More "special".  
Being "special" had gotten him turned into an errand boy, had forced him to kill his own friends, and people he still couldn't help wondering if they really were evil or not…

On the other…it annoyed him in a way.  
Why didn't he get wings and magic? Something like that could have made his life way easier…and besides, why would he get everything else, then suddenly stop there?  
He was already so different, surely the extra features wouldn't affect anything at this point? He could afford to have _more_ , couldn't he?

It didn't make any sense to him, no matter how he looked at it…

…And, as it would figure, once he got into those thoughts, he, unintentionally, shut out the world around him.

When he finally snapped back out of it, he had run into the side of a building, with Meta Knight nowhere to be seen.  
Though that annoyed him, it didn't really matter, did it?

It wasn't like he actually cared about anything that stupid armored blueberry did anyway…


	4. Chapter 4

A week or so passed.  
Things returned to normal…  
…well, his version of normal.

People returned to his house and ran him on errands, his usual happiness returned, he played with his friends again…

The memory of Raleigh and the promise of answers scratched at the back of his mind, though.

By now, it seemed like something he had dreamt up, though he couldn't bring himself to forget it.

Sure, he still had the guy's number, but, looking back on it, it was absolutely crazy.

A cloaked figure just comes out of nowhere, and is genuinely concerned about him? Even after finding out who he was? (His own friends notwithstanding — they were his _friends_ , of course, not some random stranger!)  
And then tells him something about 'splicing', albeit without fully explaining what that was, and being able to potentially find out what he was from his blood?

There was no way he hadn't imagined it all.  
If he somehow hadn't, it was probably some sort of scam to get his blood for some reason.

And Kirby had completely fallen for it…

He cursed himself for that. For his rashness.  
It wouldn't go away just from that, or maybe not at all, but he still hated it. That trait had caused him a lot of trouble before…

Sighing, he reached over to his phone.  
All things aside, it would benefit him to _try_ calling the number. At the very least, it could prove to him whether or not he was waiting for nothing.

What he expected was for the call to never be answered, or for the number to not be a working one, or, of course, someone else entirely.  
Simply for it to not be correct in the slightest, for the scientist to either be a figment, or a trickster…

…What he _didn't_ expect was the phone to ring right before he grabbed it, and the name on the screen being "Raleigh".

 _Raleigh…!?_

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately answered.  
Did this mean it really did happen…? And he really hadn't been tricked? Unless he had fallen asleep, and was merely dreaming…

With that thought in mind, he nervously greeted the potential nothing on the other end, "H-hello?"

"Kirby!", Raleigh exclaimed back, excitement very obvious in his voice, "Thank Nova I didn't have to try again!  
This is…! It's just…!  
Look, this isn't something I can't explain over the phone! You remember where my house is right?"

"Y-yea, I think I do." If not, finding it wouldn't be much of a problem. The place stuck out like a sore thumb.  
But why in the name of Pop Star couldn't he explain it right here…?

"Great! Hurry over, please!  
This is an incredible discovery, I'm telling you!"  
 _click!_

"An incredible-?  
…ah…" Kirby stared down at the phone.

 _…_ _He hung up…_

"…Guess I better head over…"

* * *

Getting to the house wasn't an issue - though Kirby chose to use the warp star to get there, specifically because it was faster.

The building really did stick out like a sore thumb, being a rather large structure in an otherwise empty, out of the way field.  
It probably wasn't the _best_ place to go into, all by himself, with no backup plan…except, maybe to call someone if he felt he needed to.

However, convincing himself to go inside despite the all that wasn't a problem either. He far was too eager to find out whatever had been discovered, assuming there really was a discovery at all.  
He had high hopes, at least.

…The real issue, however, was actually finding Raleigh, as the scientist wasn't in the living room like he had expected.

Actually, the house seemed rather empty at the moment, which…really didn't help his nerves.

Going around and testing the doors, he quickly found that the only other rooms he could get into were the kitchen, and the bathroom, both being deserted.  
Every other door was locked.

…well, except for one other.

That "one other" being a hallway, with just two doors; the one he was in, and another at the end of the hall.

Rather irritatingly, it was pure white here, with lights built into the ceiling and where the walls and floor met, making it bright enough for his eyes to burn.

Why did it need to be like this…? For intruders? Though he couldn't imagine any intruder being chased away by mere bright light, regardless of how much it burned…

Either way, at least he didn't have to worry about getting lost, even with his eyes closed.  
It was just a straight path, with the walls being perfectly safe to touch.

Yes, he had to feel at the door a bit to actually find the doorknob, but that wasn't too big of a deal, was it?

The next room, thankfully, was dimmer, if at the price of Kirby momentarily going blind as he adjusted to it.  
…And, once he had, he quickly stumbled back in a bit of surprise, though mostly terror, tripping over his own two feet.

 ** _thud!_**

Startled by the noise, that…that _thing_ he had seen looked around, startled almost as much as he was, then noticed the puffball, staring for a moment…  
…Before hurriedly rushing out of sight.

Then, after a moment, the usual cloaked Raleigh came back, looking flustered.

"S-sorry you had to see that, friend. I didn't hear you come in…"

Kirby couldn't look away. Couldn't get that monster out of his brain.

 _How does someone get like_ _ **that**_ _…!?_

"I…I-I know that had to have been…traumatizing to see, b-but…  
Look, this isn't what you're here for, right? Can you just hear me out again? I seriously found something here!"

He just nodded, having lost his ability to speak.

"Alright…" The scientist took a deep breath, before going over to a large tube in the middle of the room, and pointing at the screen in front of it. "This is what I found.

You — Kirby, you — you're a combination of over half of the puffball types!  
...And…something else, something I wasn't able to recognize." He paused for a moment, before apparently taking Kirby's inability to speak as confusion over the subject.

"As you might or might not know — stop me if you do, please — the five types are warrior, winged, magic, copying, and, er, 'normal'.  
I know that first one must sound strange to you, but that's probably because of the lack of purebloods anymore, and I assume the half-bloods became mellower due to the peace and, well…being half-bloods. Eheheh…  
But, in the past, the warriors were a very…fighting-oriented type, and could adapt to situations a bit easier and faster than other types.  
However, they were also blood knights by any other name, occasionally prone to 'berserking' if prompted.  
I'm sure that's where you got that 'thrill' from, among other things." The impatience and rashness were probably from it as well…  
…maybe.

"Aside from that, I assume the others speak for themselves.

I'm sure it's obvious you have the copying type in you, as well as 'normal' to keep it all stable…" …More or less… "…though, I suppose, it's a bit sad you don't have the other two…

As for the ability to wield those 'sacred' weapons…I know that was native to some kind of species, somewhere in the past, though I can't tell you if it was puffball or otherwise. That part, unfortunately, doesn't match up to anything I have, as is lost to the past.  
It's still there, however, and that's quite interesting, no?"

Kirby slowly nodded, being able to process the information bit by bit…  
…It took a _lot_ of willpower to not ask about Raleigh's real appearance.

"…Now then…  
With this new information, you could just leave and go about your business, curiosity hopefully sated, or…", Raleigh trailed off, looking away.

Kirby tensed up. This was the part where he'd say he wasn't going to let the little hero leave now, right? "…Or…?"

"W-well…you see…"  
Before Kirbs could react, he got closer and grabbed the puffball's hands excitedly.  
"As far as I'm concerned, you're the only person alive that has this combination—that is _living proof_ that the ability to wield and use those objects lies in one's blood!  
This could be an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I mean, I know that sounds rude, but…!  
If you could permit me to, I'd really appreciate it if I could get a bit more of your DNA to use in a future splice, or…"

He trailed off, letting go of Kirby's hands, and awkwardly backing up, flustered.  
Whatever he was thinking of, was it really going to be that bad…?

As startled as he had been, the little hero was pretty quick to calm down, and finally stood up, dusting himself off.  
Once again, not what he expected. Raleigh was just full of odd surprises, wasn't he?

Still, the puffball shifted around, keeping a suspicious gaze on the other. At least he was near the door, in case he needed to escape for any reason…  
"…And the 'or'…?"

Raleigh took a step back, looking queasy. "I could splice you as well, but, even ignoring the risk, I don't see why you'd want to be even more different, with the complaints you had before…  
I suppose, trying to take those traits away from you might seem like a nicer option, but…" He grimaced.

Oh…so he remembered those, did he?  
And Kirbs instantly understood the last bit. If he chose to go through with _that_ , Pop Star would probably be doomed…  
…and even if it wouldn't be, though Raleigh had no way of knowing it, he doubted anyone would want to be around him if he wasn't the hero…

Regardless of what his friends told him…

"…Just wondering, what's the risk?" Besides the obvious disfigurement the cloaked figure had, though he couldn't imagine anything would be much worse than that.

"um…This thing I like to call Cellular Meltdown."

"Hah?"

"er…It's where your cells would shut down and die, and typically won't be replaced. Best guess scenario, you lose your sense of touch in some places. Worst case scenario, you'd…probably die, yourself."

Kirby shuddered at that. "…I…I see…"

"Aside from that, there are other risks.  
Like, behavioral change, a possible risk of brain damage…" He paused, grimacing. "…Appearance change…  
As well as some other effects, depending on what DNA is used. Heredity sort of things."

The puffball frowned.  
Not-pleasant things, obviously…

Raleigh paused again, watching him.

When he didn't seem to object, or even _show_ concern, the splicer spoke up again.  
"…Listen, Kirby…  
If you're seriously considering going through with that, even knowing the risks, I will _not_ go through with it today."

"-What? Why not!?"

Raleigh placed his mismatched hands on Kirby's shoulders, looking the little hero straight in the eyes. "Splicing is not - especially for a healthy person like you, where it's _completely unnecessary_ outside of preference - something to simply rush into. I refuse to let you make a…n entirely rash decision over it." He wasn't sure he could completely turn this one down. The pink puff seemed far too stubborn to accept 'no', unless he came to it himself…  
"If you must, at least give it a night.  
A week.  
As long as you need, as long as possible.  
But I won't be doing anything until then."

…He released Kirbs after that, whom then took a few steps back, awkwardly shifting and rubbing his shoulders.

Though he knew it was wrong, Kirby couldn't help feeling a surge of disgust. That creature had _touched_ him… _twice_!  
…Of course, no sooner had he thought that, he was mentally scolding himself for it.

So far, Raleigh had nothing but nice to him, offered to help him, and was trying to prevent him from doing something stupid…(though he wasn't sure he really wanted to listen…)

And he was getting all up in arms about what the scientist looked like under the cloak?

…Come to think of it…  
With all these warnings…and _that_ …

"…You speak from experience…don't you…?", he asked, unconsciously taking a cautious step forward.  
Secrets were something he didn't like, in the slightest.

"-er…Yes, well…I've been in this line of work for a few years now—"

" _Personal_ experience?"

Raleigh hesitated, seemingly silently regretting everything now.  
"…I-I'm sorry, that's…that's a story for another time, my friend…"

…That's when the pink puff's brain seemed to snap back into place for the second time, and he backed up to the door.  
What was _wrong_ with him today…?  
Normally, Kirby could count on himself to at _least_ have a little tact…or some warning…

"S-sorry…that was out of line, wasn't it…?" He bit his lip, ready to leave.

"…It's fine, friend."

"I-is it…?"

Raleigh nodded, though he still appeared far from really alright with it. "You've had the mildest reaction to my appearance so far...and you're the first to ever apologize for it…s…so…"

…He got bothered about that a lot, then, didn't he?

Kirby paused for a moment, putting a hand on his still-injured arm, then sighed.  
He knew what it was like to be bothered about something he didn't want to talk about, though he had managed to forget one of those somethings in all the excitement…so why…?

…Maybe a visit to…someone else was necessary…  
He had to clear his head.

"…I'll, uh…I-I'll be going now…"

"…Goodbye, friend."

"S-see you later…" _Maybe_.  
He bowed a bit, then quickly hurried out, unwilling to stick around any longer.

To his surprise, once he got out, the sun was setting, which only served to frustrate him a bit after all that.  
…Exactly how long had he been in there…?

Sighing, he got back on the Warp Star, and headed straight home.  
That visit would have to wait until tomorrow, from the looks of it…

* * *

 _ **yeesh, this one got long! especially compared to the other chapters so far...**_

 _ **don't worry about the stuff that hasn't been explained yet, 'cause i actually sort of have a plan for this story!...er...more than my usual plan anyway**_


End file.
